As part of Budget 2014, Alberta continues to invest in two carbon capture and storage projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands upgrading.

Minister of Energy Diana McQueen saw the significant progress being made on large-scale carbon capture units under construction at the Scotford Upgrader during a visit to the site on April 17. The units will be used to capture carbon dioxide from upgrading, and then transport it by a 65-km underground pipeline to three injection wells north of the upgrader in Thorhild County. There it will be safely and permanently stored more than two kilometres underground.

“The Alberta government is committed to carbon capture projects. With them we are showing the world we take the responsible development of our resources seriously and we’re becoming a world leader in CCS technology.”

Diana McQueen, Minister of Energy

“The Quest project will be the first commercial-scale CCS project in the world for an oil sands operation. The Albertan and Canadian governments have been strong supporters of CCS; their leadership is an example for future projects worldwide.”

John Rhind, Oil Sands Vice President, Shell Canada

Government investment in CCS

In Budget 2014, the Alberta government is investing $144 million in CCS projects.

Alberta will invest almost $1.3 billion over 15 years in two large-scale, oil sands-related CCS projects – the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line and Quest Projects.This is an unparalleled investment in CCS for a jurisdiction of Alberta’s size.

These projects will start up in 2015 and will store 2.76 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. This is the equivalent of taking 550,000 cars off the road each year.

In addition to the environmental benefits of the project, the Quest Carbon Capture and Storage project creates value for Alberta by developing technology expertise. The numbers of skilled trades people working on construction peaked at 900. The project is also using an Edmonton module fabrication yard to construct modules for the capture facilities.

Under the Building Alberta Plan, our government is investing in families and communities, living within our means, and opening new markets for Alberta's resources to ensure we're able to fund the services Albertans told us matter most to them. We will continue to deliver the responsible change Albertans voted for.